The 2011-2012 Newfoundland Angler's Guide

FISHERIES AND OCEANS CANADA NOTICE TO ANGLERS

DFO Advises Anglers of a Correction To The 2011-2012 Angler's Guide

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Warren with Labrador salmon caught on the Jack Whacker

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Anglers are advised of an error in the 2011-2012 Angler's Guide. On page 4, titled Retention Limits, the section for Unclassified Rivers (Zone 1 & 2) references Green tag #4 for Large Salmon. This line should be deleted, as retention of large salmon (greater than 63 centimetres)is no longer permitted in the recreational salmon fishery.

Friday, 4 March 2011

Cheaters Sometimes Prosper

I was messing around on the internet the other day and read a story about a guy caught cheating during a major bass fishing tournament. He had stuffed lead weights into his fish before the weigh-in.

It wasn’t just sticking a chunk of lead down the fish’s throat; he had a well thought out system with a treble hook tied to a short leader and then the sinker so that the lead wouldn’t go down the bass’ throat far enough to be detected just by feeling the fish’s belly.

He was caught when all of the fish which had died during that day’s fishing were filleted so that the meat would not go to waste. During the cleaning of the fish, the lead weights were discovered.

A little detective work soon narrowed down the suspects and at the weigh-in on the next day of the tournament his catch was scrutinized. All of his fish were discovered to have the added weights.

Because the prize value of the tournament included cash as well as a $50,000.00 boat, the cheater found he was not only facing the shame of exposure but also criminal prosecution.

Now here is the thing, this guy was a top bass pro with life time tournament winnings of somewhere around $300,000.00.

He had a well thought out system for adding the lead weights to his fish. A system that meant he had to rig up his hooks and leaders and weights with full knowledge and premeditation.

It wasn’t whim or a moment of careless desperation. How many times did he cheat? Once, twice, every time? No one knows but him and he isn’t saying.

If you do a Google search for “cheating + fishing + tournaments” you will find out that there are lots more examples; some funny, some stupid and some just disgusting. It makes for an interesting read.

It has been written that the quest for money is the root of all evil. It must be true if fishermen, otherwise the most trustworthy of liars, can be corrupted into being simply real liars by the prizes and cash of a big fishing tournament.

Monday, 28 February 2011

The Sky is Falling! The Sky is Falling!

I received an interesting email from Larry Shortt the other day. It seems that a new fashion trend is threatening the available supply of the long narrow feathers on the neck or saddle of roosters and other birds known as hackle. These feathers are highly valued by fly tiers and now apparently by beauty salon owners too.
The fad is feather extensions in the hair. The Hannah Montana set is crazy about it.

The situation is simply that the growers of high quality hackle have found a new market and are cashing in as hard and fast as they can. The down side for us in the fly fishing community is that the law of supply and demand is driving the price up. I’m guessing few tackle shops are able to risk stocking expensive necks that may not move as fly tiers experience the sticker shock.

To the hair dressing trade, seven hackle feathers in a bundle cost $15 wholesale! And to get that price you must buy multiple bundles. $15 for seven feathers! No wonder the growers are ignoring the tackle shops and fly tying community. We expect to buy a whole neck for around $50 give or take.

If there is an upside to this I guess it is that the feathers come from a farmed bird, bred and raised for its plumage rather than from a wild creature. History tells many ugly stories of creatures driven to extinction by the whims of fashion.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out. My guess is that a ton of little bundles of super high quality hackle will be available from the Dollar Store in about six months as this fad runs its course. The speculators will go broke and need to liquidate the Metz Grade A necks they’ve been hoarding.

For an interesting perspective on these sorts of price bubbles check out this article from Bloomberg Businessweek on the tulip bulb craze that happened in Holland back in the 1630’s. “When the Tulip Bubble Burst”.

Monday, 10 January 2011

How To Get Rid of Fruit Flies

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Fruit Fly

This is the time of year when for some reason Fruit Flies become a real nuisance, I was thinking about how to get rid of them and came up with a simple but amazingly effective trap. It uses a recycled beverage container and four pebbles or something similar to lift it a quarter inch or so off of the counter. For bait, a little bit of red wine or cider vinegar works well.

Here is what you need: An empty, plastic water bottle, juice or soda container with a bottom that has a raised center.

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Fruit Fly Trap bottom

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Drill a small, 1/8” hole in center of this raised bottom. I used a 3/32” drill to start a pilot hole and then widened it to 1/8”.

Use hot glue to add something to the bottom corners to raise the trap a little bit so that the flies will be able to crawl or fly up into the center hole.

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Fruit Fly Trap raised

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Put a small amount of red wine, cider vinegar or similar aromatic liquid in the container so that it is just below the hole in the raised center of the bottom and your trap is set.

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Fruit Fly Trap set

﻿﻿To release your captured flies, just step out side and take off the top. They will happily fly away unharmed. For the more blood thirsty, just do nothing. They will soon land in the liquid and be unable to escape.

Fruit Fly Trap working

In principal the trap works exactly the same way as an East Coast lobster trap, just turned on its end. The creatures are funneled through a small opening into a larger space and can’t find the way back out.

I can’t get over how well this rig works. It took about two days to completely clear our kitchen of those pesky little flies. I’ve kept it set and sitting on the windowsill above the sink to pick off any newcomers looking for a place to settle.

A fundraiser for your Brownie or Cub pack?:

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fruit fly trap in place

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Because this idea works so well and is easy to make using recycled materials that would otherwise be thrown into a landfill, it might make a great project for kids looking for a fund raising idea.

These traps could be decorated or customized to be either pretty or even more inconspicuous.

To illustrate this article I’ve used a large juice container just to make everything clear. The trap doesn’t have to be that big. It can be any size.

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The key is the indentation at the bottom of most plastic containers. A flat bottom won’t work!

The Original Dobson Clip Is a great aid to photographers. It is like your thumb and finger holding the rod at its balance point. It works easily and naturally. Just slip the rod into the clip at its balance point, snug it up with your thumb and you now have both hands free to safely land a fish. Your rod and reel are secure from being trampled. You are also posed for a great photo.